Surprises for Christmas
by BrianneB22
Summary: Lester and Steph are on surveillance and Steph asks what Lester wants for Christmas! Lots of laughs! R/S


_Not Mine. All JE's!_

Surprises for Christmas

By Brianne

"I hate doing surveillance in a **blizzard**," I complained.

"Beautiful, if this is a blizzard, what would you call the storm a couple of days ago?"

I grinned at Lester. Surveillance with him was always guaranteed fun, even when he teased me outrageously. I always felt a little self-conscious when partnering with some of the other Merry Men; I didn't expect them to be brilliant conversationalists, but carrying the entire load myself for hours on end was just downright silly, especially when I could plainly see they were still breathing.

"We should probably canvass the area one more time before the **snow **comes down any heavier," Lester said right as a **cold wind **shook the Porsche Cayenne.

"There is no way I'm getting out of this wonderfully warm car to walk out in the **cold**."

"I'd hate to have to tell the boss that you were causing problems during surveillance. I'm sure he'd love to find out that you've been hitting on me the entire time we've been sitting here instead of doing your job."

"Lester, if you so much as _think_ about telling Ranger any such thing, I will personally make it my mission in life that you regret it." I zipped up my **coat**, put my **scarf** and **gloves** back on and mentally psyched myself up to face the bitter **chill** outside. It only took three minutes this time, much to my satisfaction. I've been working at the whole mental focus thing since I went to work for RangeMan full time, and I'd actually improved quite a bit.

Lester crossed in front of the Cayenne to hold my door open. We'd decided to use the snowfall as a cover when doing the walkabout; it was the perfect time of the day for two lovers to brave the weather for a short jaunt through the winter wonderland. I slid out of the car's warm cocoon into the cold and linked my arm through his as he locked the doors. Snow swirled around us as we set off down the sidewalk.

Ten minutes later, there was still no sign of the target. Barney Winston wasn't very bright, and I had hoped he would be out and about while we were on our walk. Turned out that was more wishful thinking than anything else.

"Let's go back to the Cayenne and warm up a bit," I finally said. "I can't feel any of my toes or fingers."

Lester winked at me and said, "You always have Ranger to warm you back up." I would have blushed like usual whenever someone mentioned my relationship with Ranger, but my cheeks were already frozen and bright red.

I had moved into Ranger's penthouse only six months ago. I had never been happier, but I still blushed crimson when anyone teased me about the way we still couldn't keep our hands off each other. Lester was the only Merry Man crazy enough to say anything outright, and had been teasing me even before anyone knew for sure the seriousness of my relationship with Ranger. I guess it just goes to show that hiding feelings as deep as ours wasn't possible.

We made the turn to head back to the Cayenne when a very drunk Santa stumbled across our path. Huh. It never ceased to amaze me that guys can put on a Santa outfit and then drink themselves into a stupor. I mean, wouldn't it just be easier to skip the Santa part and go straight to the drinking?

Lester steered me clear of the Santa's erratic path, but just as we went past him, I got a better look at his face. My wish had come true! The drunken Santa was none other than good ol' Barney, well into his afternoon bender.

I nudged Lester and he grabbed Barney by the arm, spinning him around. As Barney threw his other arm out for balance, I latched onto it and helped propel him towards the Cayenne. From the way he listed from one side to the other, I found it hard to believe he'd managed to make it this far without tipping over.

I was really feeling the cold by the time we'd made it halfway back to the car, and I tried to hurry Barney up a bit. I should have cleared the plan with Barney first, though. He dug in his heels and veered towards Lester. Between my momentum and the snow-covered sidewalk, I lost my balance and executed a perfect forward dive into a snowbank.

The shock of the cold snow enveloped me. As I jumped to my feet, I could feel it sift down my back and start melting against my skin. Lester watched my contortions as the ice water ran down my back and laughed like a loon. Even Barney had a drunken grin on his face. Maybe it was the humiliation piled on top of the cold, but my temperature shot past hot straight to seething.

I shoved Barney into Lester, hard.

Barney staggered, flailed his arms like a windmill in a hurricane, and toppled over, taking Lester with him. They fell into the snow on the other side of the sidewalk with Lester on the bottom. Barney thrashed around, trying to get to his feet, and only managed to plaster his groin right in Lester's face.

"Get _off_!" Lester growled, heaving him to the side into a deeper patch of snow.

I was laughing so hard the tears were running down my face. I didn't even care that they froze half way down my cheeks.

"Who's the funny one now, Big Boy?" I choked out, holding my stomach.

Lester glared at me as he scrambled to his feet. He reached down and hauled Barney out of the snow by the scruff of his neck. Without a word to me, he literally dragged Barney the block back to the car and shoved him into the back seat. I had to jog to keep up with him, afraid he'd leave without me if I didn't keep up. I'd never seen Lester mad, but I definitely knew there was payback looming in my future.

***

I didn't test the waters with Lester until after we delivered Barney to the station.

"So… ummm… are you warm yet?" That had to be the stupidest question, but I couldn't think of anything else to break the ice. Literally!

"Beautiful, you are too funny when you think someone is mad at you," he said, a grin breaking through the stormy expression he'd kept on his face the entire ride to the station.

Well, at least he wasn't mad at me. That was a point in the No Payback column. "I do not act funny and I don't think you're mad at me. I'm quite confident my unique charm makes sure everyone likes me all the time."

"Sure, Beautiful. Whatever gets you through the day," he said, laughing quietly to himself.

We drove in silence for a few minutes, but I didn't want to give him time to re-think the whole 'I'm not mad at you' thing. "Do you have a wish for Christmas, Lester?" I asked curiously.

"A gorgeous woman stepping out of a box in nothing but a skimpy, bright red Mrs. Claus dress." He batted his eyelashes at me comically and then gave me a slow once over from head to toe. "Do you own a Mrs. Claus outfit?"

I punched his arm playfully. "In your dreams."

Lester turned and gave me a cheeky grin. **"****I'm so optimistic, I'm going after Moby Dick in a row boat and I'm bringing the tartar sauce with me."**

I threw my head back and laughed. "So that's how you get over all the rejection."

"We both know that women do not resist the Santos charm."

I rolled my eyes and just shook my head, inwardly glad that he seemed to have forgiven and forgotten the whole falling-into-the-snow-bank incident.

***

Ranger was waiting for us in the garage at RangeMan. He stood by the Turbo, his arms crossed over his chest as Lester pulled the Cayenne into the next parking spot.

"Hey, boss."

Ranger nodded, his eyes watching me with only the smallest hint of amusement as I hauled my snow-melt damp self out of the SUV.

"Boss," I echoed, and Ranger narrowed his eyes at me as mine crinkled in laughter.

"Babe, didn't we talk about being a smart ass in front of my men?"

"You've got bigger problems, Ranger. She's been hitting on me all morning. It really makes me uncomfortable during surveillance." Lester stayed just out of my reach, his eyes dancing and an evil grin on his face.

Ranger raised his eyebrow at me. "Babe?"

"Lester, I'm going to kill you," I said calmly, taking the first step that would end with his blood on the concrete.

"Well, look at the time. I'm off to get some **hot chocolate** to warm up." Lester grabbed me, planted a big, sloppy wet kiss on my lips. "See you on my doorstep Christmas morning, Steph."

He bolted before I could react and barely before Ranger could get to him.

Ranger watched him for a moment then shook his head. He came over and wrapped his arms around me. "Babe, care to explain what that was all about?"

I looked up at him and grinned. "How do you feel about giving Lester a wonderful surprise on Christmas morning?"

"If it has anything to do with you wrapped as a present, I have a huge problem with it."

"In his dreams! I know exactly who the best woman for him would be." Ranger saw the calculating look in my eyes that said it wouldn't end well for Lester.

He gave a bark of laughter. "Babe, do I need to fear for Lester's life?"

"Only if he has a heart attack."

I gave Ranger a bear hug and tugged him towards the elevator. "Less talk of Lester now and more talk of what I get to unwrap tonight."

Ranger gave me the wolf grin and swept me into his arms. As he carried me the rest of the way, I could only be amazed that I have the power to make Ranger lose control. Of course, I planned on thoroughly enjoying the effects all night.

***

I stretched luxuriously the next morning, blinking as I woke up. Even after a year of being with Ranger, I still feel like purring when I get some of his grade A loving. He is simply more amazing with each passing day.

I opened my eyes to find Ranger staring at me with a smug grin on his face. "Feeling good, Babe?"

"Mmmm… couldn't be better," I said as I snuggled into his arms.

"Is that a challenge?"

"Is anything not a challenge to you?"

"When you look at me with those big blue eyes, how can I not take it as a challenge?" Ranger teased.

This is one of my favorite things about our every day relationship. Ranger is comfortable enough with me to tease and is one of the few men I know of who likes to just lay in bed and talk. The Dick and Morelli never lounged in bed with me unless they expected sex to end the conversation.

We were just content to be in each other's arms and relaxing. I was close to falling back asleep when I suddenly remembered my plan. I bolted upright as my mind kicked into overdrive with the long list of things yet to do.

Ranger settled his fingers on the crook of my elbow. "Babe?"

"I've got to make some calls otherwise my surprise isn't going to work."

"You're really going through with it?"

"Of course! I want to make his Christmas wish come true and get back some of my own in the process." I grinned at him as I slid out of bed. Grabbing my cell phone from the table, I headed towards the door to start working on the calls.

I was scrolling through my contact list when Ranger got up. As he stood by the bed and stared at me with his hot, dark eyes, my train of thought completely derailed. There was just something about the way he stood there that made it difficult to think.

A slow grin tilted his lips as he stalked over to me, and I realized that the calls were going to have to wait a little longer. The phone slipped from my fingers as he pulled me into his arms.

***

Third time's the charm. This time, I bolted into the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed before I walked within reach of Ranger's come hither looks. He gave me a playful swat on the backside as I scurried past him and went to take his shower as I started to make the calls needed to make Lester's Christmas wish come true.

I hung up after the last call with a look of satisfaction on my face. The look could have been caused by the success of my plan or Ranger loving, but I'm thinking it was a little of both.

Ranger came into the kitchen dressed for mercenary bad ass success and I had to grip the counter to keep from taking advantage of my boss and making us both late. We walked to the elevator with our fingers entwined and headed out to start the workday.

***

The week passed quickly, filled with plans for both family Christmas celebrations and my revenge for Lester. Ranger and I would spend Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas Day with his. In between, we'd take a shift at the monitors so most of the men could enjoy the holiday with their families.

Somehow we made it through dinner at the Plum residence, although I was surprised Ranger didn't go into some kind of coma from the amount of salt, fat and sugar my mom kept piling on his plate. He cringed as the mound of food grew higher, then melted my heart when he bravely ate it all.

We came back to RangeMan to relieve the early shift and sat side by side at the monitors, our hands clasped beneath the desk.

"Is your surprise all ready, Babe?"

I choked back a laugh of gleeful anticipation, "Yep! I routed the security feed to the monitors so we can watch the whole thing."

"Proud of you, Babe. You've pulled this off with definite flair." He lifted our hands and placed an open-mouthed kiss on my knuckles. His eyes promised me that there would definitely be some Christmas joy waiting for me after our shift, and I nearly lost track of my thoughts. A green light blinked on the status board, and I pulled my mind away from the delights to come.

"Here we go," I said, turning up the volume on the feed.

Ram and Cal deposited a large cardboard box in front of Lester's door. They grinned over the huge red bow and knocked on the door before scurrying into Cal's apartment across the hall.

There was a pause, then Lester opened his door and saw the box. A large grin split his face. "Is that you, Beautiful?"

Grandma Mazur popped out of the box, wearing a bright red bikini top with matching boy shorts trimmed in white fur. She hollered "Merry Christmas, Big Boy!" as she launched herself at Lester.

Bless Grandma Mazur and her uncanny aim. Her hand hit the target dead on and Lester's scream reached high notes a soprano would envy. Good thing I've learned to plan for all possibilities and wired the hallway for both video and audio. YouTube is gonna love me!

_This was written for a challenge on Perfectly Plum. I'm sorry about not updating Confusion in what feels like forever, but this was my practice to get back into the writing mode and I'll start up writing again after the holidays! _

_Hopefully I get some reviews from you ladies to motivate me even more to update Confusion (I only got two responses on PP and am pretty low on motivation). Please!!! Please review!!!_


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